Romeo & Juliet
by CPDSVU
Summary: Just when she thought she had gotten him back, he was ripped away from her once again. This is what happens when Hailey Upton finds Jay Halstead, who has been shot by Angela West. Set post 7x09 – an Upstead "two"-shot.
1. A Fragile Line

_You deserve to die_.

Those words were the ones that echoed in Jay Halstead's mind as he laid on the floor in agony. _Now, her wish would come true_. He played it on a never ending loop, over and over again until the words bled into each other, just about as quickly as his gunshot wound was bleeding into the red on his neck.

His eyes had given up hope on staying open, but another voice came into his ears. It was soft, but firm; desperate, but reasonable; and _hers_. He'd know it anywhere, even with his last breath.

"Jay?! Oh my God, Jay!"

Hailey came rushing to his side, her hands cupping his face like they did all those months ago.

"Jay…Jay? Stay with me, Jay!"

Her voice was becoming more frantic, more fragile.

"5021 Henry, officer down, I repeat, officer down! I need an ambo _now_!"

Jay's mouth opened to form words, but all that came out was a cough, as he felt his chest tightened.

Hailey had kept one hand on his face, her eyes only leaving him once to scan the room.

His eyes grew wider. _The room. Angela. Shit. _

"Hail– ha," he tried, but his wound prevented more than that from coming out.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, don't talk Jay. You're gonna be okay. We're gonna get you out of here," she said, as she radioed the team.

They heard the sounds of doors being broken down; and the team rushing in.

His eyes finally landed on Angela's sinking form, which was barely moving near his.

Hailey followed his eyes, although hers didn't land on Angela. They landed on the gun slipping from her grasp.

She locked eyes with Jay, whose eyes were just as intense and sad as her own, as if to say, _Yes, it's true, that is what happened._

Hailey had never wanted anyone deader than she wanted Angela West.

* * *

"Hailey? Jay?"

Adam's voice rang out down the stairs, as he stepped down, followed by Kim, Voight, Kevin, and Vanessa in quick succession.

"Down here!" Hailey screamed out. "Is the ambo here?!" She asked.

"Brett and Foster are right behind us. We just have to clear the room," Ruzek yelled back.

"It's clear. Angela shot him, but she's lost a lot of blood herself too. Get Brett and Foster down here _please_!" She felt her voice crack, but in that moment, she could care less. The only thing that mattered was literally beneath her fingertips, and she'd be damned if she lost him again.

"Coming through guys," Brett announced, followed by Foster with a backboard. "Let's get him up and out!"

They quickly maneuvered Jay up onto the board so they could get him some oxygen. Hailey didn't move a muscle…she couldn't get herself to. She only moved when Foster literally pulled her up, as her instructions to ride to Med with Jay were muffled in her ears.

"Stay with me, Jay!" She said again, more forceful as she saw his eyes try to close again.

He tried to keep his eyes on her, but she was worried. She'd never seen his green eyes so pale before. So colorless, it was like all the light was gone from him. And she didn't like what that meant.

"Jay, Jay…if you can hear me, squeeze my hand," Brett commanded.

Jay's fingers barely moved, but it was enough. He lightly put pressure against Sylvie's hand.

"Good, good," Brett said, looking at Hailey, who never took her eyes off Jay. She faltered, knowing that look. She'd seen that look many a time over at the Firehouse.

Kelly with Stella last year. Hell, even herself when it came to Casey once upon a time. The look of _love_, the purest, most genuine form of love there is. The one that is so strong it could cut through all other emotions, even the most negative. The look that someone gives the one they can't lose. And apparently, she was witnessing this with Hailey Upton and Jay Halstead.

"Hailey, can you take his hand, please? I need to monitor his stats," Brett asked, softly shaking her shoulder.

Hailey's blue eyes met hers. "Hm? Oh yeah, sure." She said, carefully wrapping her fingers with Jay's. He easily slipped into her grasp, like it was normal.

_Normal. _Yeah, she missed the normal moments between them.

* * *

"Will," Maggie said, looking to the double doors that had opened to Chicago Med.

Before she could tell him _who_ the patient was, Will asked his routine, "What do we got?"

"_Will_," Maggie said, a little more deliberate to make him stop. "It's Jay."

She watched the realization dawn on his face, only to see it be replaced with brotherly worry as his younger sibling was in fact, rolled into Med.

"30 year old GSW, significant trauma to upper torso and head; may need operation, not sure of how much blood he's lost….what's new, what's not." Brett said.

"Vitals are stable though," Foster added, trying to give a tiny bit of positivity.

"Get him to Baghdad!" Will screeched. It was loud enough to make Natalie, Elsa, and April turn their heads. Even Dr. Marcel and Dr. Choi took notice.

"Give me a CBC, CNP, run a CT, MRI, all of it. God dammit, just do all of it!" Will ordered.

Elsa quickly jumped in to assist, getting Jay prepped and on the table with help from Natalie.

"Okay, he's good. Let's get him up," Dr. Marcel and Dr. Choi helped clear a path. "Let's go people!"

Hailey had followed in behind Foster and Brett, but had gotten lost in the shuffle of doctors and nurses within the hospital.

"April!" Her voice was a little loud, she realized by Nurse Sexton's surprised expression. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I came in with Jay. Where is he?"

"Will sent him up for his labs and panels. His vitals were stable though, okay. So he's good for now. We'll know more when he's done. Are the rest of Intelligence here?"

"They're on their way," she said.

"Good, good. Let me take you to his room. You can see him when he's done."

April led Hailey to the room Jay was briefly in. She debated on sitting or standing. Her legs feeling like they were going to give out made the decision for her. She buried her head in her hands. She couldn't believe this was happening….again.

All the memories of last year came flooding back to her, and she couldn't help it anymore. She just let the tears fall.

* * *

"Detective Upton, where is she? She came in with Detective Halstead," Voight's gruff voice could be heard from across the room where Hailey sat.

"Sarge," she called to him. Voight came over, but Hailey motioned for him to stop, figuring that 5 more officers in a tiny hospital room didn't make for a good outcome. "Let's just all convene in the waiting room," she suggested, avoiding his gaze.

"Hailey," he said, an oddly quiet tone blanketing his words. "This isn't on you," he tried to reassure her. She knew this, of course. Logically. But emotionally, it was a whole different battle.

Emotionally, she wanted to ring Angela West's neck. Emotionally, she blamed herself for not going downstairs _with_ Jay. Logically, she knew both of these thoughts wouldn't change the situation she found herself in.

"I–" she tried, but her voice broke again, and her head met her hands for the second time. She ran her hands over her eyes, trying to wipe the tears away as she sank down into another chair.

She heard the telltale grunt of her boss, and looked up to see a flash of Will Halstead's red hair.

"Will," her voice was barely above a whisper, having been raspy from screaming and crying.

"How is he? Is he going to be okay?" Hank asked, the rest of the team waiting on baited breath.

Will's eyes clouded over with concern, that was abundantly clear. But when his lips slipped into a grimace, they didn't know exactly _what_ to make of that. "I, uh, I don't know. I couldn't find the source of the bleed. I had to let Dr. Marcel and Dr. Choi take over, because I couldn't…I couldn't handle it. I'm sorry guys. I'm so sorry," he lamented.

Hailey did the only thing she could, her body moving before her mind had a chance to catch up. She got up slowly, and wrapped Will in a hug. The older Halstead let himself break a little, a few tears slipping. Hailey let herself cry too. For Jay. For Will. For her team. For herself.

She sucked in a breath as she felt Will temper out. They broke apart, the two seeming to acknowledge the tiny benefit that brought. "I'll let you know as soon as Ethan and Crockett page me, okay?"

"Thank you," Voight said firmly, shaking Will's hand. Will nodded, before turning away.

Hailey sadly watched him go, not even wanting to imagine how hard this must be for him. He and Jay had lost their father around this same time last year…now he could lose his brother too? Hailey couldn't bear the thought.

_I can't lose my partner though_, her mind loved to remind her of this oh so obvious fact. She sighed, running a hand through the top of her ponytail as she sat back down.

"Sarge?" She asked, looking up at Hank, who still stood.

"Yeah?"

"Where is Angela West?"

"Angela West is upstairs. She came into Med quietly. No fuss. She'll get treated and then, if she's lucky, she'll leave here in one piece."

The usual grave echo in his voice used to jar Hailey. Now, it was like music to her ears. Because for once in her life, she and Voight had the same end goal. To get Angela West to tell them what they needed to know, no matter what the cost.

* * *

"Sleep well?"

Angela West's eyes snapped open, a living nightmare looking back at her. Hank Voight stood up from his perched chair at the end of her bed.

"What're you–"

Her voice shut up real quick when she noted her wrist cuffed to the bed. "You did this?" She asked, tugging at her handcuff.

"_You_ did _this_," Voight retorted, showing a photo of Jay.

"He killed my husband!" She shouted in his face.

Voight shook his head.

"So, you try to kill him? Is that it, huh? Some kind of twisted revenge? You stupid bitch, he didn't do a damn thing to Marcus!" Hailey's voice startled the both of them.

"_Upton_," Voight said sternly.

"No! Sarge, she shot Jay! She _shot_ him, if for no other reason than to make us know what it feels like to lose someone!" Her angered walk shot her right up beside Angela West's bed.

"You thought you knew pain? Honey, you have no idea what pain is…." Angela sneered at Hailey.

Hailey's blue eyes grew fierce, and she raised her hand, as if she was going to slap the widow. "Don't push me. I will make sure you regret it." She harshly grabbed Angela's free wrist as she said those words, shoving it back down to the bed as she stormed out of the room.

"If Halstead dies, you're gonna wish you never lived." Voight reminded her, before he too left the room.

He shared a look with his detective, whose anger was still very raw. "Sarge, I'm sorry…I know, you said for me to come in after, but I couldn't– she just kept blaming Jay, and he didn't….god, he was only trying to _help_ her. He was only **ever **trying to help her, because that's the kind of person he is!"

"I know," Hank gently put his hand on her shoulder. "I know."

Hailey could feel her eyes fill with tears again, so she averted her gaze, which landed on Will Halstead, who was standing outside Jay's room down the hall.

She ran as fast as she could to him. "Will? Is he okay?"

"They found the source of the bleed. The bullet missed his heart, but it did nick an artery. They had to get him into emergency surgery."

"Will….will he make it?" Hailey asked, her voice just as shaky as her hands.

"It's moment by moment right now. They are almost done with the surgery. I just came back down here to grab Jay's chart." He regretfully moved past her, grabbed the clipboard, and headed back up to the OR.

"He….oh god…." Hailey murmured. Thank god Kevin was coming down the hall, as when she tried to grab the wall, she missed and began to sway.

Hank tried to steady her, but Kevin had to assist in getting her back to the chair in the waiting room.

"Take a breath in, Hailey. Breathe, please." _Kim's voice is actually really soothing_, Hailey thought as she finally sat back in the stupid hospital chair.

She did as instructed, taking in some much needed air. She didn't dare close her eyes though, as all that would do was take her back to today…to last year. To all of it. And she couldn't handle that. She was barely holding on.


	2. Actions Speak Louder Than Louds

_I should've told you, I'm sorry. _

Yes, it was about Adam. But now? Now it was about her own feelings for _him_. For Jay. She was kicking herself for not telling him. And now? She might not get the chance.

Because the horrific sounds of someone going into shock rang out over the hospital. And when Hailey saw Will take off running upstairs, she knew it was Jay.

"No."

She tried to run up with him, ignoring the signs that said "EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ONLY." It took both Adam and Kevin to keep her downstairs.

"No! I have to be there! I have to see him! I can't– I can't–" she collapsed to the floor, Vanessa and Kim bringing her tissues and trying to help the boys get her to calm down. They all looked to Voight, and their boss stared back at them, the 5 of them getting on the same page.

_Hailey was like this because she could lose Jay. Not just as a partner. But as the one she couldn't be without. _

They all knew that now, even if the two people who most needed to know it didn't tell the other. They all were heartbroken over that small, yet very significant fact.

Hailey's small body was wracked by sobs, cries heaving against her tiny frame. "I, he, no," she kept sputtering out, barely able to form a sentence.

_Hailey, I'd follow you anywhere. _

She knew he meant it. But now? Now it had even more meaning. Because he was supposed to come back to her. He was. And now? He might not get the chance.

Because Angela West took her anger out on the wrong man. In a vile way, she purposefully did to Jay what Jay had accidentally done to Marcus. And in an even more sick turn of events, the both of them may suffer the same fate.

And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

* * *

"Charging to 200. Pushing 1 mil of epi," Ethan relayed to Will, who, despite warnings, stayed by Jay's side.

Crockett pushed the life-saving method into the IV. He put the paddles on Jay's chest. "Clear!"

The trio watched Jay's body rise up, only to fall down with no change.

"Again!" Will ordered.

Ethan pulsed his hand down to calm the situation. "Again," he softly said, motioning to Crockett. He pushed another milligram, and Marcel charged the paddles, performing the same maneuver.

No change.

"Push 2 of epi, charge it to 4!" Will begged, his doctor voice completely leaving his body. He wasn't a doctor now. Here, in this moment, he was only Jay's brother. Helplessly looking on as his younger brother might die in front of his eyes.

"Pushing 2, charging 4," Ethan and Crockett went again, and the seconds ticked by like molasses as Jay's body suffered through the motions.

The men eyed his stats, all silently praying that the numbers would move.

"Please!" Will said to no one in particular.

"Will," Ethan started.

"_No_," Will said.

"Will!" Ethan tried again, but Will wouldn't hear it.

"Get out of my way Ethan, I'll do it!"

Crockett looked to Ethan, not knowing how deadly serious Will was.

Ethan knew Will. And he knew Jay. He knew when to call it quits. But he also knew the Halstead brothers wouldn't call it quits until it was really over. And the look in Will's eyes pleaded with him, with every fucking fiber of his being, to not let it be done like this.

"Again," Ethan said. "Pushing epi."

What felt like a lifetime was actually only a few seconds between procedures. Crockett pushed the paddles once more, not even blinking as he looked to the charts.

* * *

Only 4 minutes had passed since the bells had first sounded. But for Hailey, it was forever. She hadn't been able to get off the ground, shoving everyone away, even the boys.

"Hailey,"

"No! God, no! No!"

"Hail,"

"No… he didn't…if anyone….I should've. I–"

"What Hailey, what is it?"

"I deserve it, I deserve to….d i e." Her voice uttered the syllables sporadically, so off kilter that Kim wasn't sure she heard her right, until the look of utter shock on Adam's face confirmed it.

"Not Jay! Not him. Me….I, god, anyone but him!" She wailed, curling her legs up to her face, practically in the fetal position.

She probably looked like a damn fool. But she felt like the worst human being on the planet.

She was wiping her eyes for the thousandth time when a pair of feet stood in front of her. Adam literally picked her up, almost cradling her until she stood on her own. "What? What!" She snapped, not wanting to have been moved.

"Will's back." He whispered. He let her go forward, albeit wobbly, but she walked.

"Will?"

"Hailey," he began.

She stopped breathing then. She didn't hear a word out of the older Halstead's mouth. She was in a fog, in a daze, completely shattering anything else but the reality she thought she knew. But she didn't know anything anymore.

Especially since when she looked around at her co-workers, they all had tears in their eyes. They all looked like they had seen a ghost. Not even Voight's voice could bring her back to the present moment.

She felt like she was going to be sick, even more so because she was being propelled forward by something, or someone, she didn't know. She didn't even register her feet moving. Was she moving? Or was she dreaming? Lord knows she was living a nightmare.

Why would she be going forward when the only person in her life she wanted to go forward with was gone?

Apparently, it wasn't time for that yet. Because lying in front of her, was a very much alive Jay Halstead.

Well, a heavily sedated, battered up Jay Halstead. But _her_ Jay nonetheless.

She didn't understand. _I thought he was dead._ Her words from last year rang in her ears.

"He–"

"Hailey?"

Now she knew she had to be dreaming.

* * *

She blinked back tears, looking from Jay to Will, who was smiling the biggest smile she'd ever seen. "It's okay, Hailey. Go on. I'll give you guys a moment."

Will went over to the curtain, pulling it closed behind him as he quietly slipped out.

"Jay?" She choked on his name for the first time in her life. It sounded foreign in her ears.

"Hailey," he said more solid than she had heard it before.

"Jay." She whispered. _He's alive. This is real. You're not dreaming, Hailey. _"Oh my God, Jay!"

His lip ticked upward barely, but she knew him, and she knew what that meant. _Yeah, that's definitely him alright. Never not missing an opportunity to flash her a look like that_.

She cautiously walked over to his bedside, sitting down on the edge. She didn't know if she should get too close. But one more look into his eyes told her she had to.

Her hand automatically went to his cheek, and he leaned into it like it was home.

She let herself smile slightly as she grabbed his IV-less hand. He was okay. **He. Was. Okay.**

"Jay," she whispered, making him look over at her. His brow quirked up, and she didn't think he could any cuter.

But she knew words wouldn't do it justice. Besides, she had done enough talking. And he could use a break from trying to talk to. Good thing her next idea didn't require either of them to utter a word.

As she gently brought her lips to his, they were locked together in a magnetic kind of magic. Like it was meant to be…just like that. It wasn't the most passionate, or the most romantic, but it was arguably the most important kiss either of them ever had. Because it was with the one they loved. All encompassing, head-over-heels, with everything they have, in love. With each other. That much was clear as she pulled back and saw him smirk. She never rolled her eyes harder in her life; nor was more excited to shut him up.

_Some things never change_, she guessed. She'd never been happier to be right.


End file.
